


The Sentinel of Destiny

by midnightseeker8442



Series: Stars and Spirits [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen, Help I gave myself Kilgharrah feels, Light Angst, Pre-Relationship, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-17 23:27:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21551500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightseeker8442/pseuds/midnightseeker8442
Summary: The Great Dragon lied to Emrys.
Relationships: Kilgharrah & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Stars and Spirits [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553113
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	The Sentinel of Destiny

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Merlin (TV) and all associated characters belong to Shine and the BBC. I am just borrowing them. I make no money off of this work, unless feels can be converted into currency. In which case I am one rich woman.
> 
> Whew, glad that part's over. Hello all, this is my attempt at worldbuilding an AU (possibly multiverse of AUs, depends on whether or not I decide to write that much). This will be leading into a female!Merlin AU. Hopefully the work is self explanatory, however I will leave notes at the bottom explaining my premise.
> 
> Neither beta'd nor brit-picked as I have neither of those. All mistakes are my own. If you'd like to volunteer, leave me a note in the comments!

The Great Dragon lied to Emrys.

*

_There was very little left of the Great Dragon. His powers had long since been drained away by his long watch. If destiny did not work out as it was supposed to . . . he had only enough magic to try one final time. The Great Dragon had to check on Emrys._

*

Well, if the Great Dragon is being honest with himself, he lied to Emrys many times about many, many things. But there is only one such falsehood that he regrets. For you see, he made Emrys believe that destiny is an immovable thing, unmalleable and unchanging in time.

*

_‘None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin, and none of us can escape it.’ How those words haunted him now._

_The Great Dragon was not permitted to contact Emrys while the Once and Future King was in Avalon. But observing from a distance did not count as contacting, and the Great Dragon was too weary to fear the consequences of breaking the rules. He set off for the lake, knowing he would find Emrys there._

*

And time, that is a funny thing. The sorcerers of more recent times are, on occasion, called _scientists_. They will tell you that time only progresses forward and very rarely, under only the most extreme circumstances, changes the pace at which it marches onward.

But this too is a falsehood.

*

_The Stars and Spirits had very specific rules. The Great Dragon could not interfere with Emrys or the Once and Future King. He could not allow them to love each other, not in any non-platonic way. He could not allow Emrys to follow the Once and Future King into Avalon. He could not change Emrys or the Once and Future King in any way._

_These rules were there to help. They were necessary. Even if the Great Dragon hated them so._

*

But time is merely a stage on which destinies play out their tales as written by prophesy.

There are prophecies that Emrys has never heard of, must never hear of. Prophecies of a Great Dragon who watches over destiny and time.

This Great Dragon is a sentinel of magic. He can change destiny, alter time, and bring order to all of the Stars and all of the Spirits. He _must_ do so. Until magic is at its safest. Is the most whole. And the stars and the spirits are at complete balance.

If he fails, he and everything else will cease to exist.

But like the prophecies of Emrys, those of the Great Dragon overlook the soul of which they speak. There is no place for a Merlin or a Kilgharrah when the weight of all that there is and all that has been and all that ever will be lies on their shoulders.

*

_Once the Great Dragon has settled into his disguise he begins to drive around the lake. He will be able to check on Emrys from a distance. He also finds it humorous to disguise himself as a farmer in a blue automobile. Like dragons, they do run on combustion._

_His humor is short lived though. Emrys is not doing well. His magic is barely there. There isn’t enough magic left in him, or the world, to bring the Once and Future King back from Avalon._

_The Great Dragon must try again. One last time._

*

The Spirits are all but gone from the world. The Stars are too weak to protest. Kilgharrah resets time again. But this time he’s going to break a few rules.

**Author's Note:**

> So if it wasn't clear, the idea here is that Kilgharrah can reset time to influence events to achieve a certain outcome. The canon of the show is the second to last time Kilgharrah resets time, the AU we're going into being the last attempt before the universe ends if things don't go right. 
> 
> If you have any remaining questions, leave me a comment! 
> 
> Much love, and I'll see ya next time!


End file.
